31/10/2024
This Halloween!! Add this spookily spectacular 3 track EP to your party playlist and enjoy!!
Mycelium Network "Soon You'll Be Mine" EP available on all major streaming platforms!!
Earlier this month we caught up with Brian from Mycelium Network and asked him about his influences and also his take on the music scene nowadays....here's what he had to say.....Always a pleasure to work with Brian and Wren and work on their superb music so it was a great insight into their writing and favourite music when we interviewed them....more to come soon from these guys plus loads more projects on the go so watch this space!!
So Brian....
1. What was the first record you ever bought?
Love hunter by Whitesnake, my mother introduced me to them through the Come and get it album and I still have both (on vinyl)
2. What was the first album or single you would describe as "Life changing" and inspired you to play guitar/sing/write songs?
Joe Satriani Surfing with the Alien.... bought the album on a Saturday and the very next Saturday I bought a guitar.
3. Brian, your songs can vary between serious topics, story telling and tongue in cheek comedy classics! What is your approach to writing and do you set out to write in one of these styles or does it just depend on what comes out on paper?
For me songwriting is organic, I might suddenly get inspiration while driving and have to pull over and write it down or a riff might arrive and I'll have some lyrics laying around and the two become one! I'll never force a song it either happens or not it'll reveal itself to me in good time.
4. What comes first? The music or the lyrics?
There's no particular order to my songwriting I have riffs and lyrics all over just waiting to evolve
5. Who are your musical heroes?
Obviously Satriani but I love Lou Gramm out of Foreigner and Joe Lynne Turner who has sung for numerous people
6. What is your background in music, previous bands, achievements etc?
IStarted playing guitar when I was 22 and joined a band ten months later (I know that sounds unachievable but I assure you that was the case) and I've been involved with bands ever since. I was part of a trio called Shrine of the Monkey some years back and we released an album in 2010 called Under Blackened Skies but that never really amounted to much and I lost faith in the whole music thing and had to stop for a bit to catch my breath, take stock and reevaluate my next step in my music. My wife got me into Milos Karadaglish and I fell in love with classical guitar which in turn dragged me back to music and Shrine of the Monkey tried to reunite and that's where I met Andrew Bolam recording a single with Shrine... I had a feeling about Andy that u could work well with him so I asked if he'd be happy to record a solo album with me and Mycelium Network was born, sadly Andy died in 2023 and I felt as though we'd lost a member of the band, and he'll be missed a lot, RIP Andy. Losing Andy has set me back with regard to songwriting but it's coming back now and although we have loads of recorded stuff waiting to be released, I'm getting into the swing of things once again.
7. This is just the first of a few features we are going to be doing together and we have worked together for a few great years now and hopefully more to come. With a new multi media focus I think we can spotlight the band and creative process behind your songs and the fact that you Brian are a multi instrumentalist and you Wren also a great songwriter. What do you personally have planned for Mycelium Network as you are very hands on with the promotion etc and there has been talk of a compilation album?
For me I'd just like people to listen and enjoy what we've put together and appreciate Mycelium Network. We'll keep releasing music so long as I keep writing stuff.
8. Finally, what are your thoughts on the ever changing landscape of the music industry as it is now compared to pre 2000 and the digital age. Do you think it is easier or harder to get noticed as an artist these days?
Well as far as we're concerned our music is being heard in more countries than we could ever have dreamed off, the Internet is sending it straight to people all over the place and that's something we could never have achieved beforehand, I know... we still have copies of Shrine of the Monkey albums in my shed!! My only gripe of course is we don't get paid fairly but that's another subject. (Editor-Yes we have a big feature on that very subject coming soon which a lot of people will still find quite enlightening I'm sure!)
Thanks Brian, the new EP is superb and here's to many more collaborations :)
Ramble On
